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About us
But enough about us, let's talk about us…
It all began in a small town in northern Italy. Not just any small town, but a town rich in heritage — a heritage of innovation. A town known as the sports car capital of the world, and also known for its exquisite cuisine and as the birthplace of Balsamic Vinegar. And the birthplace of one of the most innovative companies in the music industry - the town of Modena, Italy.
What in the world?
Here's what we do: IK Multimedia designs and manufactures apps, software, hardware and accessory products for music creation and playback on computers and mobile devices.
Not to brag, but we do it so well that some of the top companies in the world of musical instruments chose us to partner with to bring unique and innovative solutions to market. And when we say top companies, we mean iconic brands like Fender®, MESA/Boogie®, Ampeg®, Orange® Soldano® Gallien Kruger®, Seymour Duncan® and more.
Where in the world?
IK Multimedia is a multi-national company based in Modena, Italy. We have business units operating in 7 countries: Italy, the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, Mexico, Brazil and Hong Kong.
Our products are sold in over 120 countries with a network of 15,000 resellers and used by millions of musicians worldwide.
The hard (ware) way
IK started manufacturing electronic hardware accessories for computers in 2006 and in 2010 evolved into the production of app-enhanced iOS accessories. To make sure
you can actually get these great products, IK now operates a new electronics manufacturing facility headquartered in Modena, Italy that is fully equipped for hi-tech manufacturing using SMT technology.
Mobile Music Revolution
So here's the cool thing about what we do… we create products musicians use to create music whenever and wherever the inspiration strikes them. And we do it with tools that are simple to use. Slash uses our stuff on tour when he's in his hotel room at 4am. You can too. In fact (again, not to brag), we've pioneered the mobile music segment of the market with our range of 50 accessories and apps for the iPhone/iPod/iPad. IK was the first company to introduce the wonderful world of mobile guitar tone (AmpliTube and AmpliTube Fender® for iPhone/iPod touch/iPad) and a cost-effective, professional way to connect a guitar to those devices, the iRig audio interface for guitarists and bassists. Today we make the most extensive range of mobile solutions for musicians of all types - keyboard players, guitarists & bassists, vocalists and DJs.
Company Profile
Way back in 1996 — around the time electricity was discovered and cell phones were the size of your average 4-slot toaster — two Italian engineers got together to solve a problem in a recording studio. Could you get the sound of classic analog gear from a computer? One of them said (in Italian, of course) "Could we emulate electronic circuits using DSP algorithms and feed an audio signal through the computer and get the same sound?"
The answer was yes, the piece of gear they emulated was a vintage Abbey Road console, and a company was born.
The Second Generation
In the early 1950's Jerry noticed the increasing popularity of the accordion and began to stock different models. Soon Sam Ash became known as the leading accordion dealer in the area. Another trend the Ashes noticed was the new found prominence of the electric guitar, first through jazz artists such as Les Paul and then with the newest sound in music - rock and roll. Sam Ash began to add guitars to the store, becoming the second dealer in New York to carry the Gibson line and also carrying guitars from a new company, Fender.
Sadly, as the family began to enjoy it's first real success, founder and patriarch Sam Ash passed away in 1956. Leaving the company in the hands of his wife and two sons, Sam Ash had established a way of doing business that would become company policy. "Our father prided himself on treating everyone fairly and offering the best selection of musical instruments at low prices," says Paul Ash.
Sound familiar?
Our company motto, "Musicians First," actually has a couple of different meanings.
First, we're musicians. And we're musicians first — engineers, software designers, business specialists, marketing and sales pros, warehouse experts, logistics managers and overall nice guys and girls second. What does that mean to you? It means we only design and create products that we would use. It's a very simple philosophy, but there's beauty in simplicity, and it actually guides our product development and production processes. And it works extremely well for us and for you.
So that's our philosophy for operation. And we've been doing it longer and better than any other company in the market. You see, we don't "exceed" expectations at IK. We create completely new ones by creating tools that inspire new levels of creativity. Here are some interesting factoids about IK along with some milestones.
We'll keep it brief so you can get back to creating music.
Check our milestones on the timeline.